Sunday, November 8, 2015

The 2015 Extra Life Video Game Marathon is in the books for my nephew and I. It was a bit of a quiet day today, but we still managed to collect a total of $275us in donations for the Alberta Children's Hospital. That's like $1400 cdn right??? Ha, I only wish.

While we didn't reach our goal set, I can't help but be pleased with the response from so many people willing to donate to this great cause. It's that time of year when people pinch the wallets just a little tighter, this past year hasn't been glowing in terms of the Canadian economy and there are a huge number of terrific charities to gravitate towards. Yes, part of this journey is about raising money, but part of it is also about awareness. I would like to hope that there are a few more people out there now who know what Extra Life is and that there are some dedicated gamers out there raising money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals out there.

Now....on to the prizes.

I made the executive decision to open up all prizes to everyone. For every $5 donated, your name would go in a hat and a little over an hour ago my nephew drew the winning names.

Anne was the winner of the Fluxx card game (donated by Eastridge Hobbies)
Dave was the winner of the movie passes (donated by Landmark Cinemas)
Dave was also the winner of the "As Heard On TV" tickets (donated by the Calgary Philharmonic)
Jamie was the winner of the 10-game punch card (donated by the Okotoks Dawgs)
Bryna was the winner of the Atari Flashback Console (donated by Visions Electronics)

Congratulations to all the winners. I will be in contact with you to make sure you receive your prize.

Lastly, I'd like to say that even though the marathon gaming day might be over, you can still donate to this cause through Kyle's Extra Life page until the end of the year. We'd love to see that total go up a little bit more so if you have a chance - fantastic.

One of the important aspects of any video game marathon session is proper breaks. Dinnertime and some prime roast beef not only provided a solid break from gaming, but has left me in full nap mode after the fact.

My nephew on the other hand is upstairs in the gaming room playing away.

With less than 4 hours to go until the end of the marathon, we are still looking for a few more donations to get us to our goal. It might be looking a little loftier now than before......but you don't know if you can get to it unless you try.

We still have giveaways to make - those will be determined today, but you can still donate this weekend, next week or next month. Donations for the 2015 Extra Life campaign go until the end of the calendar year.

Well the day is finally here. Extra Life 2015 Video Game Marathon Day is now in full force.

I just texted with my nephew who has been playing now for a couple hours (since 8am our time) and will be plowing through until 10:00 tonight.

And he's doing it to raise money all for the Alberta Children's Hospital.

We've got a $700us fundraising goal and are already past the 25% mark thanks to some early donations and the proceeds from a 50/50 hockey pool. Thanks very much in advance to those who have already given.

We are also very excited today because we will be giving away some great gifts in hopes to garner even more awareness and funds.

Stay tuned throughout the day for updates. I will be heading over to "gaming central" - aka my nephew's house - for a day full of fun and fundraising.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Yikes!! How quickly the month has come and gone. It's been a busy one for me and I've had little time to get to these updates.

Sorry for not doing another round of the Hockey Pool. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Today I'd like to take a moment to announce some terrific giveaways that we will be.....giving away on November 7 as part of the video game marathon. We want to drum up as much support and donations as possible and to help as incentives, we've got some loot to hand out next Saturday.

Let's take a look......

2 Red Carpet Movie Passes and

2 Regular Popcorns

(Landmark Cinemas)

The fine folks at Landmark Cinemas have generously donated a couple of movie passes and two bags of popcorn. C'mon....who doesn't like a movie???

Landmark Cinemas is sort of my "backyard movie theatre". It's super close to my work and I've been popping over there for years. They have a great setup and are always accommodating. Thank you very much to Leila and the team at the Shawnessy location for providing this giveaway that can be used at any Landmark Cinemas location.....so if you're not in Calgary, that's ok. You can still win something.

The value of this package is $40.00

2016 Okotoks Dawgs Mini-Pack

(Okotoks Dawgs Baseball)

For the past few years, I have been a huge fan of the Okotoks Dawgs baseball program. They are a summer college team participating in the WMBL. To go out to Okotoks and take in a game is nothing short of tremendous. The atmosphere of the ballpark is such a throwback....it's addicting.

And the action is great. I've yet to see a game where there hasn't been either a great diving pay, long bomb home run, or fantastic pitching performance.

This Mini-Pack entitles you to 10 tickets to any regular season game. You can go to 10 by yourself, you and a friend can go to 5 games or you can get a big group of 10 together and have a fun day out at the park. However you want to work it.

But make sure to not wait until gametime to get your tickets.....it's a hot item.

Huge thank you to Ryan and the Okotoks Dawgs organization for this amazing donation.The value of this package is $110.00

2 Tickets to "As Heard On TV" Performance

(Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra)

The CPO has quickly become a favourite organization of mine. My niece is in the high school marching band and so her attraction to orchestra performances has grown over the past couple of years.

I discovered that the CPO has an amazing program for students called "CPOssibilities" which allows younger fans to take in performances at heavily discounted prices. What a great way to introduce and generate younger fans. Love it!!

If you have never been to a performance, it really is quite breathtaking. The power and precision of these world-class musicians is inspiring. And I'm thrilled to have been given this pair of tickets to share with you.

Paige and the team at CPO have been very gracious to donate a pair of prime seats (Orchestra Pit center) to this June 4, 2016 performance. It's a more contemporary performance showcasing TV themes. I know it'll be a fun time.

The value of this package is $150.00

Fluxx Card Game

Regular Show version

(Eastridge Hobbies)

For those who follow my other blog, you will undoubtedly know that I am a hockey card guy. And part of my hobby routine is going to trade nights every month. It's a great way to get together and just have fun in an environment with others who share the same passion.

One of the local shops I go to is Eastridge Hobbies. The guys there are great and really make it a fun time. I've gotten to know Doug and Mikey more over the years and they are always there to help out whenever needed.

When I asked if they'd be interested in donating a card game to my nephew's cause, they simply said "absolutely". I can't thank them enough.

Now, I've never played this particular card game, but it does look fun. There are many different shows depicted in the Fluxx series and I decided to go with Regular Show. The game is for 2-6 players, ages 8+ and takes anywhere from 10-40 mins. to play.

The value of this package is $21.00

Atari Flashback 5 (92 Games)

Classic Game Console

(Visions Electronics)

When I first thought about securing some giveaways, I knew I had to do something video game related. After all, this is a video game marathon. I've always been a fan of the retro games and have seen this system in the past. It was my mission to land one of these consoles.

Visions Electronics stepped up to the plate....and I really appreciate it. Tyler and the guys at the South location in Calgary are top notch to deal with and were happy to help me out.

This console looks jam packed. 92 games including classics like Centipede, Space Invaders and my all-time favourite Atari game - Yars Revenge. You get two controllers and two paddles. It's a simple setup and doesn't need any batteries. Plug it in and go.

***NOTE: We are going to do something a little different for this giveaway. Check down below for details.***

The value of this package is $90.00

Amazing stuff!!! Thank you very much again to the groups that have been very helpful and generous in their efforts. It is much appreciated.

So....how do you get a chance at winning one of these packages?

Simple - just donate.

There is a link on the right hand side of this blog which will take you to Kyle's donation page. For every $5 you donate, your name will be entered once in the draw for prizes. So if you donate $20....that's 4 entries. $50 is 10. The more you donate, the better your chances are.

The best part is that your donation will go to the Alberta Children's Hospital. How awesome is that?!!

I realize some of these prizes are limited to certain locations. If you are from out-of-town (Calgary) and do end up winning a prize, I will do my best to contact you in order to work something out. At the end of the day, I'd love to get these giveaways into the hands of generous donators who might be able to actually use them.

And for the Atari console giveaway, I'm going to limit this one to the "under 18" crowd. That's right!! If you are a friend of my nephew's or have kids under the age of 18.....you're odds just got a whole lot better. So tell your friends and get saving.

We will be using the honor system on this one. If you donate and your donation is on behalf of a youth, please indicate "Atari" in the donation comments section. That way I will know who to enter for this exclusive prize. As well, if you see my nephew in person, you can always donate through him (or me for that matter). Just fire me a message via the comments and we can figure it out. Thanks.

Stay tuned on November 7 and we will be giving these prizes out throughout the day. Should be a fun time.

Friday, October 16, 2015

I made the trip out to drop off the winning funds from the hockey pool to the highly skilled winner. Congratulations Dave. Six for six...what can I say.

Actually, what I did say is "That went way too quick....I should do another".

And so, I think I will.

I'll have details on Monday, but it'll essentially be a "restart". You can keep the picks you've already made (and therefore just pay the entry fee) or you can change your picks via the modified entry form (which will be made available Monday). Either way, it'll be a second chance to prove your hockey IQ is tops.

And it'll be a second chance to raise some funds for the Alberta Children's Hospital.

With the donation made tonight, we are at 20% of our $700us goal. An awesome start to this fundraising campaign. Thank you all very much.

And.....make sure you stay tuned to this blog over the next week for yet another reason. I'll give you a hint:

GIVEAWAYS!!!!!!

I'll have more details soon but what I can share is that I have received some spectacular gifts from various companies and organizations that will be passed along to YOU - the very generous donors out there who will make this fundraising effort a huge success.

We are gearing up for an epic video game marathon on Saturday, November 7. Should be fun.